Syracuse Basketball: Pitt wanted game more, Orange suffers brutal loss

Syracuse basketball totally coughed up a meeting versus Pittsburgh that the Orange should have won.

Syracuse basketball hosted a Pittsburgh team on Wednesday whose roster was down four players who combined to average nearly 30 points, and including its top scorer and rebounder.

What’s more, the Panthers held a lead over the Orange for just a few seconds. Unfortunately for the ‘Cuse, that advantage for Pittsburgh was at the game’s conclusion.

The Orange, itself minus two scholarship players in senior center Bourama Sidibe and freshman center Frank Anselem, held a comfortable edge for much of this Atlantic Coast Conference clash inside the Carrier Dome.

But Syracuse basketball couldn’t put Pitt away. The Orange led by as many as 18 points and had a 14-point advantage at halftime. At the under-eight media timeout, the ‘Cuse still was up by 11 points.

Yet the short-handed Panthers, a squad that in this affair excelled on the boards, particularly on the offensive glass, kept clawing and chipping away at the Orange’s lead.

Second-chance points really helped Pittsburgh and did the ‘Cuse in, evidenced by an offensive rebound and subsequent basket in the paint that propelled the Panthers to a 61-60 edge.

Syracuse basketball turned the ball over on its next possession, Pitt added two points from the charity stripe, and Pittsburgh stunned the Orange, 63-60.

I give the Panthers all the credit in the world for conquering the Orange. They outscored the ‘Cuse by 17 points after intermission, competing with energy and urgency.

Meanwhile, from my perspective, Syracuse basketball settled for way too many contested attempts from beyond the arc, especially in the second half. ‘Cuse players didn’t drive all that much, evidenced by the fact that the team only got to the free-throw line five times, with four makes.

Redshirt sophomore forward Robert Braswell received extended minutes due to sophomore forward Quincy Guerrier being in foul trouble, and Braswell made the most of his opportunity, going 4-of-5 from 3-point land and finishing with 12 points.

However, the entire Orange team went 12-of-38 from deep, which is about 32 percent, according to ESPN statistics. From the field as a whole, the ‘Cuse connected on 36.7 percent.

For a group that relies primarily on making jump shots, as head coach Jim Boeheim alluded to in his post-game Zoom call with media members, those kinds of percentages aren’t going to enable Syracuse basketball to notch many victories.

With this setback, the Orange falls to 6-2, while Pittsburgh improves to 6-2. According to ESPN data, the Panthers were plus-11 on offensive rebounds, and plus-16 overall in the rebounding department, which is a problem.

There’s no other way to slice this, in that falling on the Hill to an under-manned opponent after accumulating a nearly 20-point lead amounts to a terrible loss for the ‘Cuse.

The 2020-21 season is still young, and no doubt the lack of practices and official games during its most recent pause due to Covid-19 protocols hurt Syracuse basketball in this league bout.

The Orange will have to regroup and prepare for a non-conference showdown with former Big East Conference rival Georgetown this coming Saturday night, a bruiser that is scheduled to commence at 8 pm from the Dome.